Brescia is also involved in i.power Rigenera, the innovative solution to regenerate buildings and bridges. The product was presented at the Milan fair, Made Expo (among others at the attention of the Governor of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana).
To develop the product – a mixture of cement and reinforced fibers capable of restoring the load-bearing structures of the large road infrastructures, adapting them to the new loads due to the increase in traffic and the new seismic regulations – Italcementi from Bergamo was supported by our University, which contributed (together with the University of Naples) to the study and realization. In fact, for many years Italcementi has been studying products and technological solutions for infrastructure rehabilitation at the Kilometro Rosso laboratories in Bergamo: the cement-based formulation that has been created belongs to the category of high-performance, fiber-reinforced and durable concretes. Through full-scale tests on pillars and beams, reinforced with the developed solution, the performance of the reinforced elements was verified in the i.lab laboratory, with results showing that it is possible to extend the useful life of the works even by 100 years and the resistance of the elements can be up to 6 times greater than that of the original elements.
In Brescia, several tests were carried out at the University of Brescia on a 1: 4 scale bridge pile compared to the size of a real pile. The bridge pile was first damaged, so as to simulate a 50-year exercise, and was subsequently reinforced with the new product. Subjected to seismic action, the pile has resisted very high loads and the residual strength of the fiber-reinforced material has allowed the structural element to deform, thus avoiding the breakage and collapse of the building. “After several decades of research on fiber-reinforced concretes, these materials are now present in the main national and international regulations – explains Giovanni Plizzari, director of the department of civil engineering, architecture, territory, environment and mathematics of the University of Brescia. He continues, specifying that the study done with Italcementi has allowed the development of a material particularly suitable for reinforcing the structures and infrastructures existing in reinforced concrete. The advantages: there are many advantages of the material: in addition to those connected to the durability and safety of the infrastructures, proof of earthquakes and fires as well, i.power Rigenera is sustainable because its high fluidity and its mechanical performance allow the creation of thicknesses of just a few centimeters and the material does not need to be armed.